In today’s Globe and Mail,Mark Schatzker writes about Canada’s supply management system for eggs, chickens and cows, which he describes as “the enemy of deliciousness.” The article opens with scenes of inspectors from the Chicken Farmers of Ontario bursting upon the scene of unauthorized poultry operations and leaving crying Amish farm wives in their wake (along with fines of up to $10,000 a day). Schatzker argues that the high cost of quotas—$27,000 for one cow’s worth of dairy or $200 per laying hen—means that only high-volume, low-margin businesses can survive. As a result, the kind of specialty pastured poultry that’s raised in the U.S., like silver-laced Wyandottes, Jersey giants and barred Plymouth rocks, just makes no economic sense north of the border. Luckily, a loophole allows cheese makers to get around the quota system—as long as they can prove their product doesn’t taste like any existing Canadian product (apparently a team of bureaucrats in Ottawa gets to make that delicious call). There is hope on the horizon, however; Schatzker reports that Stephen Harper is looking at scrapping the whole system so that Canada can sign onto a new international trade deal. With any luck, local restaurants will soon be able to proudly host discerning diners like Peter and Nance.Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »